If you’ve been a follower of our blog for a while, you may have seen this room made over before. This is this room’s 4th, yep, 4th makeover. I have learned so much about what works for this space (and our family!) and what doesn’t. I FINALLY love this room. I love it because it totally reflects my style and nearly every element of the room was a DIY done by yours truly. I’m talking, the wall paint, refinished floors, curtains, ALL of the furniture, including the sofas and many of the accessories were all made by moi!

From 2011, when we moved in and had zero decor (and no decorating budget!) This room has come a long, long way! Since moving in, I have painted the room twice. Once a pretty grey (Glidden – Pebble Grey) with a striped accent wall and hallway. Now, we have a crisp white (Behr – Swiss Coffee) room with a Mandilicious, Vintage Revivals inspired gold sharpie accent wall. It’s funny but I can totally see my style shift and I finally figured out what “my style” is.

In 2012, I refinished the wood floors that were hiding beneath the beige builder grade carpet and painted my favorite yard sale find to date, the Coral TV Console. The paint color is Sherwin Williams – Emotional with a tiny bit of white to lighten it up just a little.

On the other side of the room, I painted both end tables and the coffee table white to keep it neutral. The lamps were spray painted with Krylon Navy spray paint and Rustoleum’s Gold Metallic. The lamp shades are from Target.

The area rug is also from Target. It’s a light color but has held up well to spills, kids and snow being tracked in the house.

I tackled one of my biggest DIYs ever and reupholstered and tufted these thrift store sofas and painted the legs gold then dry brushed them with a grey to distress it and tone down the metallic gold. I am in love with the look of these and they’re super comfy!

Another fun project I did was put together this Gold Glam Gallery Wall. I love that it’s carried over past the corner and goes onto two walls. Most of the frames and mirrors are thrifted with one exception. I framed some family photos, created these hand painted DIY family silhouettes of my husband and I, made the personalized “Nikolaus – forever, for always, no matter what” sign for our family, added the map (a clearance steal from Target!) and some fun prints to the wall. I love how it all came together.

I’m a sucker for cute throw pillows. The gold ones are from HomeGoods and the floral is from DecoMod Walls. The mint bicycle one has gold faux snakeskin fabric on the back and for the front I used mint cotton fabric. I used my Silhouette and some white heat transfer paper to make the cute vintage bicycle. I love the little quirkiness it adds!

If you look past the gallery wall into the hallway, you can see my mint hallway with another gold mirror and gold triangle vinyl decals. I’ve already been asked where I got them after posting a photo on instagram so I added them to my Etsy shop! You can purchase them here if you’d like!

If the door is open, you can see my super fun mint coat closet makeover. That closet makeover was a long time coming and has helped tremendously in keeping this room tidy… most of the time. The mint color is a mix of Behr – Canton Jade and Tropical Dream. It’s the perfect shade of mint. I used the same paint color in the hallway when I painted over the grey and white stripes.

For the little sitting area, I reupholstered this $5 yard sale chair into the best chair ever. I love it so much! Mint and gold are just perfection.

The rug is from HomeGoods and the side table is from Target. I love how the glass almost has a mint tone to it so it matches so well! See the curtains peeking behind the table and chair?

Wow! Okay, got all that!? This is my favorite room in the house and it was chalk full of DIYs, re-DIYs and tons of ideas. Some of which worked, some didn’t. I love the decorating process and I’m a DIYer for life! For now, I’ll sit back and enjoy this room until we move next year!

I am submitting this makeover toCreating with the Stars 2014! If you liked this, please head over and click on this project on the link party (#245) to increase our chances of being chosen! Savannah and I are die-hard DIYers and this competition would be so amazing for us to be a part of!! Head over and check it out here. Leave a comment and tell them how much you love this room and the Classy Clutter girls!!! We are entry #245 in the link up!!!! Please head over and click on the project to help us earn a spot!

Today’s project was literally one of the biggest DIYs I have ever taken on. Not because it was incredibly difficult or something but because it was a long process and the payoff was huge! I taught myself how to reupholster a sofa. It is definitely one of the most dramatic transformations that I’ve done.

I found this sofa for $40 at a local thrift store. I already knew what I wanted so when I spotted it with an additional 50% off price tag, I knew it was time to bite the bullet and take on a massive reupholstery project.

I’m pretty sure this exact same sofa was in my church building as a kid. Either that or a hotel lobby. I’m also fairly certain that my husband thought I was a lunatic when I sent him to pick it up from the store after I bought it. Don’t worry, I made him see the potential!

I got her home and a month later, tore it apart! A sofa is not much different that reupholstering a chair or something.

You basically take out all 80 zillion staples and remove the fabric to use it as your pattern then put it all back together! Here she is all nakey. When all of your fabric is removed you can refinish the wood legs if you want. I chose not to remove the deck (the part under the seat cushion) but to simply cover it with the new fabric.

To paint the legs, I took gold spray paint and sprayed the legs. You can learn how I spray paint furniture here. After it dried, I took some dark grey paint and did a dry brush technique over the gold. I love how the legs turned out.

Next, time to make your pattern. I chose a grey suiting fabric and it has held up really well! I love richness of it.

Tips:

I highly suggest using a permanent marker and writing which piece is which BEFORE you take it apart. Like while everything is still intact, write on it “right arm top”, “Back”, “deck”, “front cushion” etc. Seriously, label everything! It will make your life a heck of a lot simpler when you’re trying to piece it back together.

I made the box cushion sometime mid-tear down. I needed a break from ripping out the staples so did some sewing with a friend in the meantime.

Next up, I recovered the deck and then started the the arms. This was the only other part that needed sewing (around the front curve) so I tackled that next. It is definitely the most challenging part of a project like this but if you cut your pattern pretty closely, it’s not that hard.

After the arms, you’re pretty much home free. Oh, I used my air compressor and a staple gun for the whole project. You can get a staple gun for pretty cheap so if you’re into upholstery at all, I highly suggest it versus a hand stapler. A hand one will work but you’re hands will hurt a lot sooner than using the air staple gun.

The final step was doing the back of the sofa. If you are not going to tuft, you just slide your pattern piece on and staple it in place, then proceed to the back and put it back together exactly how you took it off. You will probably have upholstery strips to replace for the very back panel. Here’s a secret, since I tufted and I wanted to have access to the back in case we ever lost a button, I opted to use velcro to attach the very back panel. This is totally not the professional way but it is way easier and my sofa is against the wall so I don’t even mind it one bit that it’s not permanently upholstered back there.

If you are going to tuft your chair or sofa, I will be doing a detailed tufting tutorial really soon. This part isn’t too terribly hard but it is kind of a lengthy step-by-step process so I’m going to break it up a bit for you.

Here it is all done.

The love seat on the right was almost this sofa’s twin but when I bought it, it had a slipcover so I chose to slipcover it instead of reupholstering it all together. If you look closely, you can see that it is looser fitting than the upholstered one but it doesn’t bother me. I’m just lucky that I found a semi-match on Craigslist to create my own sofa set.

Phew! That was a lot of info! I hope you enjoyed it. What do you think of the final product?

One of my goals of 2014 is be more organized. I feel like this is my goal every year but this is the year everything will stick…hopefully. I have been working on a few projects around my house to get me started in the right direction. First, was this DIY Homework and Art Station! I wanted to make over this cute corner in my girls playroom that they can keep all their art supplies and also work on their homework or the latest masterpiece!

The playroom has been needing a uplift for sometime now. With some help of my sister and friend, I repainted the whole room white then I added the black stripes. You can learn how to paint perfect horizontal stripes here.

How awesome are those cute school desks? I scored those at a local thrift store for only $8 a piece. With the help of some black and kelly green spray paint and of course gold legs these desk were revamped in no time. The girls got the easel for Christmas and it is from Ikea for only $10.

While I was at ikea, I also picked up those cute little storage cups ($1 each) , hanging rod ($2.99) and the magazine rack ($14.99) perfect for keeping everything organized in the corner. I love the magazine rack for holding coloring books! I also got the cute rug at Ikea for only $20. I mean honestly, that’s a crazy great price!

I won’t lie, I normally don’t go to Ikea but in the last two months I have been many many times. They have great things for organizing and great prices. (By the way, I am not being paid to say this)

What do you think? I can’t wait to show you the entire playroom! Where do your kids do art projects and homework?

Hello hello! Thanks for stopping by today, you’re awesome. Today I’m going to share with you one of my absolute faaaaveorite spots in my house. My kid’s call it “Mommy’s chair”. This little sitting area has been deemed “my spot” and let’s be honest, it IS my spot! *winks*

“Wait Mallory, haven’t you redone your living room like 500 times?” Why yes. I have. BUT… I have FINALLY gotten myself together and I am in loooove with this room now. It’s soooo close to being done so I’m showing you this little area as a little sneak peek if you will, for the whole room reveal COMING SOON! Eeekk!! I’m beyond excited.

First, let’s talk about this chair (!!!!). I love it. I scooped up this little baby on the a yard sale for $5! Cuh-razy!!! I sprayed the wood with Rustoleum Metallic Gold and upholstered it with a mint fabric I found at Joann’s. If you follow me on instagram, you already saw this little makeover.

Next up, this perfect little poppy pillow. This is the PERFECT pillow for this room because it is my exact color palette for the room. Mint, Coral, Cream, Tan, Gold and a little bit of Navy blue. I got it (and 2 others just like it) on Etsy from DecoMOD. Amazing etsy shop by the way. TONS of cute cute pillows and other fun stuff! Check them out!

Oh! The faux fur rug is from HomeGoods! I love that store!!!

The lamp and books were thrift store finds. I sprayed the lamp two-toned with spray paint and got a new shade for it at HomeGoods. The little owl was a gift from my sweet friend. So cute huh?!

The side table was a Target find and I love it! I love the shape, style, color, everything!

The curtains… oh, the curtains. The curtains were made from $5 Walmart sheets then I painted them coral ombre in an ikat pattern. Tutorial coming soon! Sometimes if you can’t find the right fabric, you just have to make it! *winks*

Here’s another view of where this little sitting area is in the room. Tutorial for the wall design is from Vintage Revivals. Mandilicious isn’t it!? I’m in love with it. Mandi calls it life changing and she’s 100% correct!

Well friends, writing this post has totally inspired me to finish the rest of the room so I can show you! It’s almost done so it’ll be soon.

What do you think? Do you have a “spot” in our house that’s your favorite?! Do tell and share a link in the comments if you’ve blogged it!

This is my sister Sophie’s room. Sophie is in 8th grade now and a few months ago her room felt to young for her. Once upon a time this was a kid garden room but is now a perfect spot for her and her teenage friends to hang out.

I painted this cute desk for her and the knobs were found at Hobby Lobby.

The adorable 4 foot chalkboard I also made for her using some MDF and chalkboard paint.

(If you are in the AZ area I do custom make the chalkboards and sell them, if you are interested email me. classyclutter4@gmail.com)

The darling chair is another DIY project.

The rug was found at Rugs USA

Here is a better view of the entire room.

The bedding is from Pottery Barn Kids along with the dainty canvas pictures of the birds.

Sweet Dreams was made by my Nana and will forever be cherished.

A few of the pillows are from the Nordstrom Home Department. The large one in the back was homemade and the polka dot one with the multi colored flowers is also homemade.

The lamp shade was a normal shade but then strip of the fabric. The mirror was a find from Hobby Lobby.

I love this chair. I wish I had a before picture. This 2 person chair had a dark brown fabric and my mom had it redone in this perfect grey linen and then tufted with the mis match of buttons I love it so much! So So much better. The chandelier was also DIY, before the colors were pastels and dingy but after a little hand painting the colors now work perfectly in the space. The hooks are used to hang all of her necklaces. And a little tray to put a few odds and ends.

This room makeover is now age appropriate even though a few of the things were used from her old room.

Adding brighter and more colorful colors in the room helped this room go from kid room with all the pastel colors to fun and an inviting teenage hangout.

Look around your house see what needs a little facelift with a little color.

I’m renting a cute little home that has a teeny tiny kitchen. Homes built in the 40’s just weren’t designed with large kitchen areas. I updated this kitchen with a little paint and a whole lot of elbow grease. The paint and styling in this kitchen has totally changed the look (obviously!) and feel of the kitchen and eat-in dining area. It feels 10x bigger than when we moved in. I have learned a ton throughout the last two years of updating this space. I have really learned what has worked and what just doesn’t in a small space like this. Here are a few things I’ve learned that have made a huge difference! 1. Paint walls a light color. When we moved in, the walls were a bright, fun green. I wanted to do a little cottage-ish kitchen so the wall color wasn’t going to work for us. We painted the kitchen tan, then a year later, I got the itch to do it grey. We used Glidden’s Pebble Grey (purchased at Home Depot, my other home) throughout the kitchen and below the chair rail in the dining area. I LOVE IT!! It looks so fresh and updated but still has that cottage feel. It’s really neutral, which is great for a rental home. 2. Paint or Purchase white cabinets. I absolutely LOVE white cabinets. You really can’t go wrong going white! I sanded, primed and painted the white cabinets with Behr’s Swiss Coffee which is slightly off white. I wanted that cottage feel so I didn’t want too bright of a white. Swiss Coffee is perfect and you can also purchase it at Home Depot. PS. How cute is my KitchenAid mixer?? I got it for Christmas and I’m so in love with it. Thanks Santa! Oh, the jar labels are my own design from my vinyl shop, Classy Clutter Designs. You can purchase them here. 3. Pick appropriate lighting. Lighting can be tricky. Especially in small spaces like ours. Make sure to pick appropriate sized light fixtures and hang them an appropriate height. I’ve seen a ton of kitchens where the pendant lights or chandeliers are blocking your view of others at the dinner table or are hung too low over a peninsula and you nearly smack your head on them. Not cool folks. Don’t do it. I purchased this adorable little chandelier from a thrift shop for $7 and gave it a few coats of white glossy spray paint. Use Krylon or Rustoleum if you want your project to last! I would eventually like some small crystals on this but I love the simplicity of it. It gives off SO much light. I even realized when I was taking photos that one of the bulbs is out and it still shines bright like a diamond. (Great, now that song is stuck in my head!)

4. Find creative storage solutions. Nothing, I mean nothing, makes a room feel smaller then when it is short on storage space. This kitchen has that problem unfortunately. There is no pantry so all food, dishes, cups, pots, pans, etc. have to be stored in the 4 cabinets we have! We are a family of 5 with a baby, a two preschoolers that require special plates, cups, utensils, sippy cups, bottles, pacifiers, bibs, etc! Holy cow, where are we going to put it all?? Well, this is where a little creativity can go a loooong way. Since we have moved in, I have found several storage solutions that work for us. Our favorite is our Hidden Sliding Pantry. This has been life changing for us. See the full tutorial here. One idea is to add these little wire shelves to the insides of your cupboards. We go through a ton of peanut butter and honey. My kids love it. I have these shelves on a few of our cupboards and I’m suprised how convenient they are! Get some ASAP. Another great food storage solution is a bread box (tutorial here)! I store bread, tortillas and the occasion cupcakes in there. We also like to have fresh fruit in the basket on top. 5. Use appropriate furnishings. Dining furniture, rugs, textiles, etc. all go into play when designing a kitchen that needs to feel bigger than it is. I always gravitate toward light colors to make a room feel larger. Although it technically does nothing for square footage, the right colors can make a room look light, airy and larger! For my furniture, I chose a table and chairs with narrow legs so it doesn’t look too heavy. It saves a lot of visual space. I also like to use light colors on the paint for the furniture. The table is a basic white (unknown paint color) and the chairs are painted with Behr’s Glacier Bay. My all time faaavorite light aqua. It’s seriously the best. I purchased this rug at Target and it matches the room really well. It’s actually a bath rug from the Nate Berkus collection but works really well in here.

Welp, that’s all for today my friends! Hope you can use a few of these tips!

Oh, don’t forget to follow us on instagram for daily updates on what shenanigans we’re getting into! Follow us @classyclutter

Hi friends! So, I’ve been preparing this week to go home to ARIZONA for a few weeks!!! I am beyond excited and I can’t wait to see my family and friends and my bloggy, crafty, bestie, Savannah! I basically have tomorrow to clean my house and pack since I leave Thursday super duper early in the morning. Anyone have any travel tips or ideas for flying alone with 3 kids under age 4??

Needless to say, this week has already been crazy so I decided to give myself a little break and share this tutorial with you on staining furniture. I was totally intimidated by staining before I tried it and on my first try, totally failed… so I was even more intimidated. Then, I did a bunch of research, tried again and voila! I’m basically an expert now! haha!

Here’s my rendition of “How to Stain Furniture”

I tried staining before and was totally disheartened. I didn’t really know what I was doing and just went for it. Guess what happened?? TOTAL FAIL!! I didn’t sand enough and it all bubbled and looked awful! Oh well, live and learn!

I’ve been researching and watching videos and experimenting with the stain and I’ve got a good method going on! I am loving how this dresser turned out. I am also toying with the idea of using Dark Wax on the detail and Clear waxing the whole thing.

Here is my method for staining. I have used advice from many different sources, mostly Minwax sites and some videos.

Here’s how it breaks down:

You will need:

80 grit sand paper
120 grit sand paper

electric sander (optional but HIGHLY recommended)

Disposable or rubber gloves

Clean rag/hand towel that you don’t mind ruining bc it WILL be RUINED when you’re done with it

First I took my sander (got it for $29 at WalMart-who knew they were so inexpensive! Worth all 2,988 pennies). You can get one here. I used 80 grit sanding discs to sand the entire top down to the bare wood. To give you an idea, the top of my dresser it took about an hour to sand the whole thing down to the bare wood. This was the most time consuming part but it is VERY IMPORTANT to get everything off of the bare wood before staining. I followed the 80 grit with 120 grit to smooth any sanding lines and get a really smooth, fine finish.

Next, I wiped it down really well to get all of the dust and dirt from sanding off of it. You want to make sure you have an absolutely clean wood surface before staining to ensure the most even, clean looking stain.

Next, I used a Minwax stain brush and your stain to start the staining process. I brushed on my stain and let it sit for a minute or so and used the dry cloth to wipe it off going with the grain of the wood. You’ll want to cover the entire surface and if you want a darker, richer color, you can do a second coat. I did two coats.

Finally, use a polyacrylic or polyurethane or a clear wax to seal it all up! You can use pretty much anything to seal and protect it and to give it some shine! The stain alone leaves a pretty dull-looking sheen so be sure to do a good clear coat.

I hope that helps you tackle a piece that needs a new life! Help revive it by staining it or painting it!

Oh! Any bloggers in the Phoenix area that are interested in meeting for a lunch date, shoot us an email (classyclutter4@gmail.com) We’d love to meet some of you face to face! Hugs!

I’m super excited to share with you one of my favorite roadside finds/makeovers! I am a sucker for gold then you pair it with the beautiful wood stain and fuh-get about it! I love it!

I found this cute little table left abandoned one day. Immediately, I had a project in mind before I even scooped it up and put it in my car! I was shocked that someone would get rid of such a sturdy cute little table! Maybe not everyone is a furniture hoarder like me!

First, I wiped it down really good and removed all of the gunk off of it. Then, I used my Silhouette and made a herringbone stencil out of vinyl and stuck it on the top.

Once I attached the vinyl, I took some gold metallic spray paint and sprayed the top of the table. I really love the wood tone in this piece so I just opted to paint the top only.

Next, I rolled a coat of polycrylic over the top to prevent any spray paint from getting scratched off over time. That’s it! Quick, easy and super cute if you ask me!

Gotta love free furniture and free projects! Have you found any good roadside finds lately? What did you do with it?

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ABOUT US.

Hi friend! We are the brains behind Classy Clutter, a one-stop-shop for all things creative. Classy Clutter keeps us connected from Arizona to New York. We hope you’ll enjoy our blog and come back often for inspiration, tips and tutorials. Thanks for stopping by!